This Statutory Instrument has been made in consequence of a defect in S.R. 1994 No. 271 and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that Statutory Instrument.
Statutory Instruments
2026 No. 201
SOCIAL SECURITY
The Social Security and Statutory Maternity Pay (Evidence of Pregnancy and Compensation of Employers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
Made
2nd March 2026
Laid before Parliament
3rd March 2026
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(2) and (3)
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 5 (1) (i), 15 (1) (a) and 189 (1) and (4) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992(1), sections 167 (1) and (2) (b) and 175 (1) and (3) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(2) and sections 163 (1), (2) (b) and (7) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(3).
Regulations 4, 5 and 6 of these Regulations are made with the concurrence of the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs(4).
In accordance with section 173 (1) (b) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the Social Security Advisory Committee has agreed that the proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to it.
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security and Statutory Maternity Pay (Evidence of Pregnancy and Compensation of Employers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
(2) Regulations 1 to 4 and 6(c) come into force on 1st April 2026.
(3) Regulations 5 and 6(a) and (b) come into force on 6th April 2026.
Extent
2.—(1) Regulations 1 and 2 extend to the whole of the United Kingdom.
(2) Regulations 3, 4 and 5 extend to England, Wales and Scotland.
(3) Regulation 6 extends to Northern Ireland only.
Amendment of the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976
3. In paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976 (rules)(5) omit “shall be completed in ink or other indelible substance and”.
Amendment of the Statutory Maternity Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1987
4. In paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the Schedule to the Statutory Maternity Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1987 (rules)(6) omit “shall be completed in ink or other indelible substance and”.
Amendment of the Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994
5. In regulation 3 of the Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of (determination of the amount of additional payment to which a small Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994employer shall be entitled)(7)—
(a)for “6th April 2025” substitute “6th April 2026”, and
(b)for “8.5 per cent.” substitute “9 per cent.”.
Amendment of the Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994
6. In regulation 3 of the Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of (amount of additional payment to which a small Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994employer shall be entitled)(8)—
(a)for “6th April 2025” substitute “6th April 2026”, and
(b)for “8.5 per cent.” substitute “9 per cent.”, and
(c)at the end of this regulation, insert “, that percentage being the total amount of secondary Class 1 contributions estimated by the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as to be paid in respect of statutory maternity pay by all employers in that year, expressed as a percentage of the total amount of statutory maternity pay estimated by them to be paid by all employers in that year.”.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Sherlock
Minister of State
Department for Work and Pensions
2nd March 2026
The Commissioners for His Majesty's Revenue and Customs hereby concur
Penny Ciniewicz
Jonathan Athow
Two of the Commissioners for His Majesty's Revenue and Customs
27th February 2026
1992 c. 5. See section 191 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 for the meaning of “prescribed”. Section 189 (1) was amended by paragraph 57 (2) of Schedule 3 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (c. 2).
1992 c. 4. Section 167 was substituted by section 21 (1) of the Employment Act 2002 (c. 22). Section 175 (1) was amended by paragraph 29 (2) of Schedule 3 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (c. 2). See section 167 (4) and (8) respectively for the meaning of “small employer” and “contributions payments” (as the latter term appears in the definition of “small employer”). See section 171 (1) for the meaning of “prescribed”.
1992 c. 7. Section 163 was substituted by section 21 (2) of the Employment Act 2002 (c. 22). See section 163 (4) and (9) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 respectively for the meaning of “small employer” and “contributions payments” (as the latter term appears in the definition of “small employer”). See sections 167 (1) for the meaning of “prescribed”.
See section 15 (1A) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, section 167 (7) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and section 163 (8) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992. The functions of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue were transferred to the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs by section 5 (2) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (c. 11). By virtue of section 50 (1) of that Act and section 10 of the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30), the references to the concurrence of the Inland Revenue in section 15 (1A) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, section 167 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and section 163 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 are now to be read as references to the concurrence of the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
S.I. 1976/615. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1987/409, 1991/2284, 2004/1771.
S.I. 1987/235. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1991/2284, 2002/881, 2004/1771.
S.I. 1994/1882. Relevant amendments were made by Schedule 2 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (c. 2). Relevant amendments were also made by S.I. 1995/566, 2003/672, 2025/330.
S.R. 1994 No. 271. Relevant amending instruments are S.R. 1995 No. 74, S.I. 2003/672, S.I. 2025/330.
The GB Compensation Regulations refer to the estimation function having been historically carried out by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This function was transferred to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue in 1999 by section 1 (2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 and the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provisions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/527). In 2005, the functions of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue were transferred to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs pursuant to section 5 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. The wording that is to be inserted into the NI Compensation Regulations therefore refers to the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as carrying out the estimation function.